Sunday, September 16, 2012

Dead boring paradise

Kazakhstan really gave us
a warm welcoming, in every meaning of this word. We heard a lot of
stories about corrupt Kazakh border officials, who take your car
apart or make you spend a night on a border unless you pay them and
were really hoping it was just stories, like the ones we heard about
Russian police. We also decided to go for a smaller border crossing,
as we expected things to go quicker there. And they did! None of our
border crossing was as quick and relaxed as this one. The officials
were smiling and joking and didn't give the inside of our car more
than one glance. Both on Russian and Kazakh side. And they also (like
so many before) found the idea of driving such a long way just for
fun a total craziness, which made them laugh even more. We were ready
to go in no time, our moods better than ever.

The day was sunny and nice
as we were leaving our last camping spot in Russia and I still had
the words of Sergiej, the truck driver in my head. He promised me I
will unpack my light clothes and even my bikini in Kazakhstan and I
was really hoping for him to be right. And he was! By the time we got
to the border I already had to change, as it got too warm for my
jeans. And when the formalities were over we decided to hit the first
lake we can find on a map. We didn't care about exchanging money or
shopping, we just wanted to get to the water and enjoy the weather.
And we did enjoyed it! The sun was shining, the view was amazing, the
water crystal clear and the beach nice and sandy. And I did unpack my
bikini and stayed in it for the whole day. We actually enjoyed it so
much we spent whole 2 days there until it was time to finally go to a
big city and register our visas.

After all the Mongolian
cities Ust-Kamenogorsk made quite a nice impression. The shops were
well stocked and the restaurants really good, so that we were happy
to be in the city again. Registration formalities were also pretty
painless, but we had to spend at least one night in a hotel to have
an address under which we could be registered. So we stayed and
enjoyed the hot water, shopping, eating out and all the other
advantages of being in a town. And we met some extremely nice people
again. We wanted to look for some spare parts,
as few small things were causing us trouble ever since we left
Mongolia. Like our hatch door, which was closing on it's own, making
it unable for us to leave our bedroom window open. We not only found
a shop with the right parts, but we actually got them for free, as a
gift with the best wishes for our further journey.

We didn't really know what
to expect of Kazakhstan before we came here. I have to admit the
reports from other travelers were not really positive. They basically
advised us to drive through the whole country as fast as we can,
spend a day or two in Almaty, go to see the famous canyon and then
leave and never come back. Details differed from story to story, but
nearly everyone was sure about one thing: the country is boring. Dead
boring. Nothing to see, no nice camping spots, the same view from
your car window for hours. We we were planning to change our route a
bit, so that we could really be out of Kazakhstan in no time if
necessary. But we started to doubt those stories already on the first
day. We had a lake with mountains in the background, nice clean
water, enough wood to make fire the whole evening and a sandy beach
all to ourselves. We were far from giving up on Kazakhstan!

Since Sergiej the truck
driver proved to be a reliable source of information we decided to
take his advice and check out the lakes east from Ust-Kamenogorsk.
The roads in this part of the country turned up to be quite good
(especially after driving in Mongolia for a month), so we wanted to
give it a try. Our way to the lake was already splendid but it was
nothing compared to what we found when we got there. I don't think I
could ever get bored with that. Beautiful lake, splendid mountains,
nice beaches, hundreds of wild birds and hardly anyone around. It was
perfect! We spent a few days driving around Lake Zaysan, changing
between perfect locations and enjoying every moment of the ride. We
spent some lovely days reading, swimming, lying in a hammock,
watching sunrises and sunsets, as well as the starry sky, which is
nearly as pretty as the one in Mongolia. We loved it! Back there we
already knew, there is no way we're going through Kazakhstan without
stopping, we were going to take our time, enjoying every lake on our
way to Almaty. And a few rivers too! Sweet or salty, big or small,
they were all amazing, each having different views and surprises to
offer. And camping when the days are sunny and evenings cold enough
to make a big fire is simply the greatest thing!

Sasykkol Lake is the one
that will definitely stay in our memory for a long time. We were
already traveling in this region for a third day and wanted to take a
last swim before we hit the road again. We found a path that looked
as if it was leading to water and slowly followed it in the direction
of the lake. Unfortunately what looked like a solid ground turned out
to be a total swamp and our car got stuck before we could even notice
what was happening. Gerrit wanted to pull us out, but we soon noticed
that it was hopeless. Trying to come anywhere near our car would get
his car stuck too, which was not exactly our goal. There was no other
option then the good old digging. Fortunately getting stuck and
helping others get out of their troubles in Mongolia gave us some
good training and taught us some nice tricks, so we knew what was to
be done. But we also knew it would take
us ages, as we had quite some distance to bridge before getting on
ground that could be described as safe to drive on. It took us eight
hours! Eight hours of digging, lifting the car, putting some wood and
sand ladders underneath it, moving it a few meters and starting all
over again. Eight hours in burning sun, with a wind that was
constantly blowing tons of sand in our faces. Funny thing was the day
before we were actually complaining we're not moving enough
recently... Well, we got what we asked for. But in the end hard work
payed off and we got Karossi out of trouble and were finally back on
the road to Almaty.

4 comments:

Great to hear that you are actually finally having some holidays;) I cannot believe it's already 3 months since you are gone!!! Time really flies!!! Enjoy as much as you can!!!Gretings from AMS! I miss u guys! (It's actually quite stupid as you always lived in another country, but still the idea that I cannot visit you that easily now is a little bitt sad)XxXxX

We tried a lot of things, but at the end it's all about digging and pushing :)

Gosia, I miss you too, both of you! Funny how I miss people and things I don't see to often even if I'm at home. But now it somehow feels different. Now I know I couldn't see you without ruining our budget and getting in some serious visa/customs troubles :( But we'll make up for it! And Ola, we will visit you in London too! It's high time anyway!